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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests Tax Administration
The information on this page applies to Tax Administration specific requests only. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for other Prince William County agencies are processed by their respective FOIA Liaison Officers or the Office of the County Attorney.
Virginia FOIA At-A-Glance
Virginia FOIA grants residents' access to public records of public bodies, officials, and employees. A public record is any writing or recording - regardless of form: paper, electronic file, audio/video recording, or other format - that is prepared or owned by the department or an employee in the course of public business.
FOIA applies to existing records/documents only, meaning the Tax Administration Division is not required to create a new record in response to any request. Additionally, FOIA does not mandate the Tax Administration Division to answer questions, requests only pertain to the access, inspection, or retrieval of existing records/documents.
Tips for Submitting a FOIA Request
To be helpful in the process, FOIA requests should be as detailed as reasonably possible and outline the specific information and/or records/documents you are seeking. Please include your full name and legal address as the requestor and any other relevant details to aid in locating the records/documents you are seeking.
The FOIA Liaison Officer, or another County representative, may contact you to clarify your request. This is to ensure we understand your request fully, so the request can be completed properly and efficiently. The Tax Administration Division will not ask you to provide a reason why you are submitting your request.
How To Submit a FOIA Request to the Tax Administration Division
FOIA requests are processed by the Department's FOIA Liaison Officer and can be submitted in person, by U.S. mail, fax, phone, by emailing [email protected] or by submitting a Tax Administration FOIA Request Form located below .
- Who is eligible to submit a FOIA request?
FOIA laws vary by state. The Federal Government is also governed by their own FOIA laws. The Prince William County Tax Administration Division in the Commonwealth of Virginia is governed by Virginia state FOIA laws.
Pursuant to Virginia FOIA, FOIA requests will be accepted from any resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia or by any representative of the news media with a print publication in the state or a television/radio broadcast from or into the state.
- How long will it take to receive a response to my request?
The Tax Administration Division is committed to responding to your request as soon as possible. Under the Code of Virginia, the Division has five business days to respond to your request with one of the following:
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- The records/documents as requested in their entirety.
- A denial of your request if FOIA is not applicable, the record does not exist or the Tax Administration Division is not the custodian of the record, or your request meets one of the exemptions or is otherwise prohibited to disclosed under state law.
- Partial records/documents, while denying others as explained above.
- A notice of extension of seven business days to complete the request, meaning 12 business days in total.
For requests of very large number of records/documents, the Tax Administration Division may petition the court for additional time to respond. This will only occur if the Department feels the 12-day period is insufficient to complete the request without disrupting organizational responsibilities.
Day one of the requests is considered the next business day after your request is submitted. A business day is any working day and does not include weekends or County-recognized holidays or closures.
*NOTE: Your request may include redactions which are permitted if the information restricted meets an exemption or is otherwise prohibited under state law
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- What information can be obtained without submitting a request?
The Tax Administration Division provides various links for residents to obtain information on personal property, real estate, businesses, tax due dates, tax rates and much more.
Here are few resources to retrieve this information
- What are the reasons my request could be denied?
The Code of Virginia allows any public body to withhold certain records from public disclosure.
The Tax Administration Division commonly withholds records subject to the following exemptions:
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- Social Security numbers, financial records, other sensitive account information, and certain motor vehicle records
- The requester is not a citizen of the Commonwealth, a representative of newspapers and magazines with circulation in the Commonwealth, or a representative of radio and television stations broadcasting in or into the Commonwealth.
If you believe your FOIA rights were violated, you may file a petition in district or circuit court. Alternatively, you may contact the FOIA Council for a nonbinding advisory opinion.
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- Are there costs associated with my request?
You may have to pay for the records you are requesting. Once we receive confirmation, the County will determine whether (1) responsive records exist, (2) any charges apply, and (3) whether any records are exempt.
The Code of Virginia states:
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- A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records.
- No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body.
- Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication.
- All charges for the supplying of requested records shall be estimated in advance at the request of the citizen as set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia and in accordance with the Prince William County FOIA Policy.
- You may request an estimate in advance for charges associated with supplying the records that you have requested. This will provide you with an approximate cost upfront and will allow you the opportunity to modify your request in an attempt to lower the estimated costs.
If a previous FOIA request remains unpaid for more than 30 days, the Tax Administration Division may require payment prior to processing any additional FOIA requests.
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